The Digital / Analogue Converter seems to have managed to become one of the most significant pieces of audio gear in most systems, and if they can double as a preamplifier, the more signifi-cant it has become.

Bluesound is a relatively new player in the world of wireless multi-room music system. Its products, however, demonstrate maturity way beyond the company’s young age. The products from the Bluesound ecosystem reviewed here: the Vault, Powernode, Duo, and Pulse, instill quite a positive impression and excitement on the future trend of wireless music systems.

OPPO has just released the HA-2 DAC and Headphone amplifier. It is sized to use with your smart phone's digital output using a USB-micro-to-USB-micro cable. With a Sabre Mobile DAC, the HA-2 will decode up to 32/384 PCM and DSD256 music stored on your phone (you will need a downloadable app). The HA-2 plays high resolution music with proper transients that might otherwise be lost on the inexpensive DACs that are native to the smart phones.

The RBH EP-SB is a well-designed wireless earbud featuring both excellent fit and top notch sound quality. The battery life is solid and more than enough for a day of casual listening or long workouts. The internal amp provides plenty of volume, helped in part to the excellent seal provided by the included Comply foam tips.

When Ultimate Ears Custom contacted me about a meeting at the 2014 New York Audio Show, I said: “Absolutely”! I had a terrific experience reviewing the entry level Ultimate Ears 4 Pro Custom In Ear Monitors CEM and was eager to hear what was new in the world of custom audio.

Tidal Music Streaming Service is the first CD quality (1411 kbps) music streaming service offered in the U.S. With over 25 million tracks in their catalog, they offer a wide variety of musical genres, in addition to curated Playlists and Music Editorials. For the video minded, they also include a catalog of 75,000 music videos, most of which are in HD resolution.

Wireworld's new Eclipse Series 7 cables depart from previous designs in that the conductors are arranged in a helix as compared to a simple spiral. I tested the Mini-Eclipse 7 in 25 foot lengths to power the rear speakers in my home theater. How did they compare to generic cables? Read our review to discover.

Modern DACs have asynchronous USB inputs to connect your computer for playing music files. This results in the bitstream being re-clocked to the outboard DAC's own clock, which is much more accurate than a computer's digital clock. However, older DACs, even expensive ones, don't have asynchronous USB inputs. The Bryston BUC-1 solves this by having a USB input for connection to your computer, and an accurately re-clocked digital output that can be connected to your old, and perhaps very expensive, DAC, giving you the essential asynchronous input.